Goldwater Scholarship Recipient Tanisha Shende ’26 Aims to Make Virtual Reality More Accessible

The Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics, provides funding for educational endeavors. Shende will spend the upcoming summer conducting research at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with plans to work on the ethics and governance of technology at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

“I am still exploring research areas,” says Shende, “But I’ve already done a lot of work in making existing technology more accessible for disabled people and developing assistive technology. Regardless of my specialization, I want the technology I study and develop to contribute to social good.”

Read more about Shende’s academic journey and career goals in this interview.

How does this scholarship align with your career goals?
My goal is to earn a PhD in computer science and a JD or a graduate degree in technology and policy. I am still exploring research areas, but I’ve already done a lot of work in making existing technology more accessible for disabled people and developing assistive technology. Regardless of my specialization, I want the technology I study and develop to contribute to social good, so I want to conduct research in an academic or industry setting while also collaborating with non-profit organizations, legislative bodies, governmental agencies, etc. The Goldwater Scholarship provides logistical support—I will apply my award to my tuition—but more importantly, it has identified me as a high-performing and high-potential researcher to graduate programs and fellowships. This visibility and credibility will be crucial as I move toward my goals because I want to be a creative and influential voice in the field. 

How does this scholarship build on your previous studies and activities at Oberlin? 
My research areas include human-computer interaction, human-centered design, and accessibility. I study the ways that technology can reinforce and mitigate social issues, such as how AI can describe images and surroundings to blind and low-vision people, but also how it can perpetuate labor exploitation and environmental harm and how it can transcend geographical and physical limitations but remain a legally ambiguous space where digital harm outpaces existing regulation and case law. My work is inherently interdisciplinary, so I took advantage of Oberlin’s course offerings as a STEM major with a sociology minor. 

My computer science, mathematics, and data science education have been invaluable in developing my technical foundation, but I’ve found my humanities and social sciences courses to be equally useful. For example, during my first year, I wrote a review paper on the impact of stigma and forced assimilation on autistic people for my Research and Reasoning in STEM course under Professor Gunnar Kwakye. Then I studied the experiences of disabled people in healthcare and higher education in Associate Professor Alicia Smith-Tran’s Medical Sociology course. That summer, at Cornell University, I developed a research study on the experiences and challenges of autistic people in social virtual reality, and I contributed to a study on disability disclosure in the workplace, university, and social media. 

During my second year, I became more immersed in educational equity through my positions in OUR and CLEAR, and I took Associate Professor Daphne John’s sociology course Unequal Educations. These experiences supported my summer research at Gallaudet University on the impact of augmented reality on d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. My research projects at Cornell and Gallaudet were heavily featured in my Goldwater application. I highlighted my interdisciplinary interests and community involvement in my personal statements and activities section. My win symbolizes the culmination of these studies and activities.

How did Oberlin shape or influence you as an academic, thinker, and person?
As a small, liberal arts institution, Oberlin carries a love for humanity that’s inspired my work. From the long history of student protests to the multitude of community-engaged organizations, the people here hold empathy for each other and the world as a whole. I began college as a physics major, intent on studying galaxies and stars, but during a September night at the observatory, I found myself more interested in the happenings on the ground than in the stars. At another institution, I may have clung strictly to the sciences, but Oberlin and its students hold so much respect for the humanities that I felt encouraged to embrace human-centered technology. There’s a real audience here for work that leverages academia and technology for social good. Despite being a computer science and mathematics major, I’ve been able to enter the spaces of other disciplines due to the many opportunities here, such as the Athens Democracy Forum Student Delegation and the Law and Justice Scholars Program.

On a more personal level, I’ve appreciated the freedom and trust given to me by faculty and staff. I’m ambitious, and I’ve found many wonderful mentors here who’ve encouraged that fire and supported me professionally and personally. They’ve taken an interest in my ideas and goals, given me advice and opportunities, and nominated me for awards. Whenever I had an original idea for a research project or campus initiative, they supported me and gave me the connections and resources needed to execute it. I’m so fortunate to have people who recognize my potential and are committed to cultivating it rather than holding me back. Their confidence in me has boosted my self-esteem and self-efficacy. 

What are your plans for 2025-26?
During the academic year, I will continue my ongoing research projects in computer science and education and prepare my papers for publication and presentation. Furthermore, I will apply to a variety of graduate programs, including PhD programs in computer science, JD-PhD programs, and master’s programs at the intersection of technology, public policy, and sociology. I am also preparing to apply for fellowships and scholarships, including the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. 

Beyond my academic work, I’m excited to continue working toward educational equity and responsible technology. I will attend the Athens Democracy Forum in October as a student delegate and implement programming on technology and democracy at Oberlin. Through my positions at OUR and CLEAR, my goal is to further boost the visibility and accessibility of STEM and undergraduate research through workshops, mentorship, and community-engaged research on systemic barriers. Finally, I will continue working with adult education providers and learners through the Bonner Center for Service and Learning to design a technological system supporting educational attainment, retention, and success.

Research is central to my character and the language through which I contribute to social good. I learned about the Goldwater Scholarship during my second year, and I read articles about Oberlin’s previous winners and wanted to be like them. Although the scholarship has financial benefits, its main draw for me was its status as a prestigious signifier of excellence and potential within research. It validates that I’m capable of the rigorous, advanced research I’ve always dreamed of doing. This recognition is meaningful for someone who has struggled with visibility, self-doubt, and exclusion, who has had to build her confidence brick by brick in spaces that don’t always recognize her right away. It tells me and the world that I belong here.

What activities were/are you involved in at Oberlin?
I am an Engaged Learning Lab Research fellow at the Bonner Center, working to systematize communication and transitions between adult education programs in northeast Ohio. I conduct research on computer science education under Associate Professor Cynthia Taylor. Within Undergraduate Research and the Center for Learning, Education and Research in the Sciences, I am a research ambassador, BRANCHES community leader, and STRONG scholar. I am a consultant within the Oberlin Research Group, conducting political research sanctioned by the U.S. State Department, and I am a 2025-26 Law and Justice scholar. Additionally, I am a 2024-25 Ashby Business Scholar and a peer career advisor for the Business, Consulting, and Finance Career Community. Finally, I serve on the Student Senate’s Academic Affairs and Health and Wellness committees.

What’s the best advice you’ve received at Oberlin?
A healthy level of entitlement can be a survival skill. If there is a certain future you want, you need to convince yourself that you deserve it and you’ll do whatever it takes to obtain it. If you reject yourself before anyone else does, then you’re not allowing other people the chance to see you and believe in you. When you're already navigating a world that’s against you due to class, identity, or circumstance, you can’t afford to be one of the forces working against your own potential. This is easier said than done, and typically, the social factors influencing this mindset begin in early adolescence. Still, I think it’s helpful to fake it until you make it.

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